British cycling apparel brand Le Col has filed a court notice to appoint an administrator, according to HM Courts & Tribunals records. The case for Le Col Limited (CR-2026-004797) was filed on 23 June 2026 and remains open. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is listed as the company's representative on the court record.
The filing comes less than five months after HEAD Group announced on 5 February 2026 that it had acquired 100% of Le Col from Puma Growth Partners. At the time, HEAD said Le Col would continue as a standalone business within its apparel division, with design remaining in London and commercial and operational control moving to Milan.
What the filings show
A related case involving the holding company, Le Col Holdings Limited, was filed at the same time. Case CR-2026-004796, likewise a notice of appointment for an administrator, was filed on 23 June 2026 at 12:17 PM — the same minute as the Le Col Limited notice. Together, the two filings point to a coordinated group-level insolvency process spanning more than one entity.
Companies House filing history shows a series of corporate changes around the same dates. Le Col Holdings Limited (company number 08583965) changed its name to CADENCE (2026) NUMBER 1 LIMITED on 25 June 2026, with the resolution to change the name dated 22 June, one day before the Le Col Limited court filing. A second entity, company number 06767427, now appears on Companies House as CADENCE (2026) NUMBER 2 LIMITED. Name changes of this kind are a standard procedural step when administrators take control of a company, freeing the original trading name for potential sale or reuse.
Le Col began in 2011, founded by former professional cyclist Yanto Barker. Companies House records show Barker stopped being a person with significant control on 7 October 2025, with that change recorded in a filing dated 8 January 2026, before HEAD's acquisition was announced. Le Col Holdings Limited had held 75% or more of voting rights and the right to appoint or remove directors since January 2018.
HEAD's acquisition announcement described Le Col as a brand with a worldwide customer base of over 250,000 riders, though reports at the time said the business had suffered losses in recent years.
Both court cases remained open as of 1 July 2026.
Velora Cycling has contacted the administrator understood to have been appointed and is awaiting comment.
Cover image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
